The Lawn Rochford ~ An Interview With Our Bride Emily

A huge thank to Emily for taking the time to tell us all about her wonderful wedding day at The Lawn Rochford and getting married to the very lucky Stacey!

Where did your wedding take place and what made the venue special?

The Lawn, Rochford.

It has such a homely feel. We also LOVED the orangery. – such a light and airy space.

Did you have a theme for your wedding? What was your colour scheme?

The Bridesmaid dresses were the first purchase and the inspiration for the colour theme. It is my fave colour, which is also a lovely summery colour that suited all three bridesmaids too.

Tell us a little about your dress, where did you finally find it?

For me, my dress and the photos were the two things I dreaded the most. I hated looking at photos of myself, and being a “larger” bride I was dreading finding a dress that would fit! “David’s Bridal” is where I found the dress; it had not long opened at Westfield Stratford when we first started planning the big day. They have a huge range of styles and sizes to suit all budgets. I tried on lots, and whittled it down to 2 possibilities that I loved and just couldn’t decide. I took my sisters, mum and nan back to the store to try them on again…tried on dress 1 they liked, tried on dress 2 and they were all blubbering messes (that was the decider!!).

What did the men opt for, and who supplied it?

The guys hired their suits from Antonys in Billericay. We actually started talking to one of their guys at one of the wedding fairs at The Lawn! Stace is quite decisive, he knows what he likes, the Grey tails suits were so smart, and the guys all looked great!

Can you tell me about your flowers?

Courts were great, again met them at the wedding fair, they showed us so many examples of their work. Who knew there were so many types of flowers? And so many ways they can be used!! I wanted the girls to have a smaller version of my bouquet, and only specified the colours and style I liked, and let them work their magic! We were not disappointed, our bouquets were gorgeous, and they did such a great job of decorating the room; the centre pieces and pedestal too!

What are your wedding rings like? Did you have any other special jewellery?

The designs of our rings were different, but we both had them made from the same material, platinum. Stace had a plain wedding band, and I had a band which matched the design of my engagement ring. On the morning of the wedding, Stace sent his mum and sister over with a surprise gift, a necklace from Tiffany, I had wanted it for a long while, but could never justify the splurge!!

What was your most useful source of wedding ideas and information?

We tried to do as much of the wedding design/planning ourselves, to keep the cost down, so I spent quite a lot of time browsing online for ideas, and there are lots of Facebook groups full of ideas and inspiration! I tried “pinterest”, but just didn’t get on very well with it. In the end I did all of the stationary; save the dates, invites, table plan, numbers and place names etc, and it was a great way to properly “personalise” the day!

Tell us about a supplier who provided a first-class service.

I’m not just saying this because you are asking the question…but Jo, you provided us with the best service. I think you had a bit of a challenge on your hands with my lack of enthusiasm for having my photo taken! But, you managed to get me to pose for photos (in public place!!) and produce photos which I didn’t want to instantly delete so that no-one else saw!! You know the best angles, best light, and all that jazz, to produce pics which we really love! The engagement shoot, which I would recommend any couple that were not sure about whether it was worth it – to do, was the best thing to ease us in to it. It put us (me) at ease, and it was one less thing to dread/worry about on the big day. You are just fab. I have lost count of how many times people complimented us on how great you were on the day! Alexandra was also great, and several of her shots have made it into our album – could you wish her well for the future for us please?

I will, thank you so much for remembering her xx

Do you have any advice for future brides?

Don’t try and please everyone! Take time out through the day to cherish the special moments! And actually…if something doesn’t go to plan, as long as you can still get married, who cares? Don’t stress over the little details, you will only regret it!! You will have a great day – just enjoy yourself!

What was your favourite photograph and why did you like it?

The one of us 2 upstairs in the good light (I think you know the one, Jo, we have had a few prints of it). I love it because we both look so comfortable, happy, and like we are the only ones in the house! There were so many that we loved though! Surprisingly, some of the ones I loved the most of the rest of the guests, were one of people mid giggle during the speeches, the real natural shots!